The Tyranny of Queen Zorah
by Calletro
Summary: [Alternative Future, Post Destroy Ending] Commander Shepard searches for answers after suddenly finding himself in a quarian garbage system. The answers will be ones that he would have thought impossible... But the reality is that he must eventually confront the insane quarian he still loves. Will even the great Commander Shepard be able to stop the tyranny of Queen Zorah?
1. Shepard Awakens

This is a story I've been wanting to do. This is a short chapter because I want to get something out while I think out the plot a bit more. My second Mass Effect story. :)

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_What? Where am I? What is that sm- Is this… GARBAGE?!_

Commander John Shepard, destroyer of the reapers, end of the collectors, savior of the Citadel, suddenly found himself in the unenviable position of being completely surrounded by stinking garbage. Even worse, he couldn't remember how he got there or why he was there to begin with, only that he was now surrounded by all sizes of trash and that is was very difficult to even breathe.

He quickly started to wade "up", hoping that it was as suitable way out of the pile. As he progressed, he passed by various objects which he would never have expected to see all that much of; items like filters, large transparent bubbles, and quarian exo-suits. The organic waste was the worst, it simply stunk and he was covered with it. His troubles did not last long though; the trash started to feel looser and looser until he finally broke out, gasping for air.

He was in a tube of some kind; it was filled with trash, and it was moving very slowly. His eyes searched for a way out, but the walls were completely uniform for as far as he could see. It looked like he was along for the ride.

Grabbing onto a piece of furniture, a rather comfortable loveseat, and pulling himself onto it, he tried to figure out what was happening. Looking down at himself, he realized that under the filth that now caked his body he was wearing his Cerberus Officer's Uniform from his days fighting the collectors. Something was definitely not right; those days were almost a year ago…

His musings did not produce any productive thoughts before he realized that above the din of the garbage pipe were voices faintly echoing from the direction the garbage was flowing. Shepard wrinkled his nose, steeled himself, and jumped back down into the garbage to avoid being seen by the owners of the voices.

After several smelly minutes the source of the conversation came into view. Two quarians, males, were on a ledge just above the flow of refuse, observing the operations. One was leaning over the railing, and the other had a datapad in hand. Soon their discussion was loud enough that he could make out what was being said.

"…and I never saw him again. And I swear by the ancestors that the bureau agents have been shadowing me ever since then."

"He was speaking in an overtly treasonous way, and the bureau doesn't often discriminate between speaker and listener. I think you should consider yourself lucky they got just him."

"I wonder what they do with people like Reil, if they really took him." As Shepard watched he took note the auditory modules on their helmets, the quarian speaking was the one leaning over the rail. "I mean, Queen Zorah doesn't have people executed very often."

Shepard blinked, repeatedly. _QUEEN Zorah?_

The quarian with the datapad, probably the older one based on his voice, sighed at his companion's innocence. "The only executions you hear about are the ones that happen to rebels who openly fight against her. Who knows how many others have been killed?"

His patch of garbage was nearly at the ledge. He needed a plan, and fast.

The younger quarian, turned to face the older one. "You question the official reports about the number of executions? Aren't you afraid they'll take you, just like Reil?"

The older quarian simply chuckled. "I'm surprised they haven't already, kid. I've got what we need, let's go."

They started for the exit, but Shepard had other ideas. He used the loveseat to spring himself onto the metal bars of the railing, and right on over. The quarians, surprised already at the noise, were shocked silly to see him.

The older one recovered faster. Thrusting the datapad into the hands of his still stunned companion, he approached Shepard angrily. "What do you think you're doing human?!" He demanded. "You aren't allowed down here! Only employees of Her Majesty's government are permitted to-" He stopped speaking, eyes fixed on Shepard's chest. The commander followed his gaze, right to the stained emblem of Cerberus emblazoned on the outfit.

"Cerberus…" He whispered, as though he had seen a ghost.

Shepard began to try and dissuade him, but it was too late. The quarian, as fast as he could, reached for a shape on his side: a pistol, but the commander was faster. His punch connected with the quarian's mask, and he heard a crack. The man crumpled to the floor, pistol only partially unholstered.

Shepard grabbed it and activated it, training it with deadly precision on the other quarian. But clearly the other was scared shitless, and wasn't about to put up a fight, so he decided to see if he could get some questions answered.

"I don't want to hurt you, but I need some answers. What is this place?" He asked, surprisingly nonchalant.

"This is garbage channel number 234, under London Avenue." The young quarian swallowed. "Is- is Jezik okay?" He asked, referring to the man on the floor.

Without taking his eyes or weapon off his hostage, Shepard checked the body next to him for a pulse and found one without much effort. "He's unconscious." He said, standing back up. "You said London Avenue. Is this Earth?"

His hostage shook his head, seeming confused by the question. "No... This is Rayya, capital city of Rannoch."

Shepard tried to hide his surprise. Rannoch had only been liberated from the Geth less than three weeks before the Battle for Earth. Yet they already had garbage disposal systems working near capacity and an avenue named after the final battle against the reapers?

"Who is Queen Zorah?" He asked after processing the previous revelation. "Tali'Zorah?"

The quarian nodded vehemently. "Yes, Tali is her given name. She was queen when I was born… I- I don't even know that much about her, just what we were taught in school and what stories people tell about her."

Shepard was about to pursue his line of questions, but a groan from below told him that Jezik was coming to. He lowered the gun away from the young quarian. "I'm not Cerberus. I don't even know how I got here or what I'm doing here, but I need to find out." He pointed at the only visible exit in the metal. "Is this the way out?"

"It will take you to the intersection of London Avenue and Omni Street."

Shepard nodded in gratitude, and then gestured at the body on the floor. "Sorry about the mess, but I should go." Jezik moaned again as Shepard slipped through the door leading to the outside world and to an adventure so bizarre and unimaginable that he would never have thought it possible.

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Please tell me what you thought. Also please tell me what you think this is about and what you think is going on in this story. Maybe you will give me some outside insight that will help me craft this better. Thank you for reading!


	2. On the Outside

So here's chapter 2. 1,500 to 2,000 words is around normal length for me. I'm surprised that so many people like this idea so much; the response was overwhelmingly positive, thank you!

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The low-ceilinged tunnel spiraled lazily upward towards the surface. Lights were interspaced at even intervals along the right-side wall with khelish signs indicating some item of caution that would be important to crews working the garbage system.

Shepard paid little attention to these minor details as he stormed up the path. The pistol, a model he did not recognize, pointed ever forward in the event that more quarians tried to stop him. Other than his footfalls and the hum of electricity, there were no other sounds that he could yet discern.

His mind was not in the tunnel. The information given to him by the quarians he encountered at the bottom of the passage raged through his consciousness. Tali'Zorah? His Tali? _Queen_ of Rannoch? Not to mention they had already built an advanced capital city judging by the fact that they had a working garbage disposal system which was already working near capacity. Particularly strange was the young quarian's statement about his age: _"She was queen when I was born…"_ All of which had a very disturbing thought nagging his mind over and over and over again.

_WHEN am I? _

In all seriousness he was incredibly concerned, but his more cynical side thought it comical. _ You wake up in a strange place, wearing a Cerberus outfit without knowing anything about anything. _He thought, and couldn't help but smirk. _Deja fucking vu Shepard! If only you could choose when these things happen, but NOOO, of course you can't. Maybe there'll even be another evil clo-_

His body slammed into a door. "Unf-" He staggered back, jarred from his thoughts. It appeared that he had reached the exit.

Shaking off the shock, he inspected the door's workings. They looked like the doors on Omega, a simple two piece design with the access mechanism located in the center. The hologram showed orange, indicating that it was accessible only by those with the proper access codes. Or those with hacking software…

Shepard pulled up his omni-tool and activated his hacking module. The device began to interface with the door, but it immediately gave him an error message.

"Program outdated, please upgrade?" He wondered aloud, and then shook his head. "Great…"

He had to think of a new plan. Maybe there was a console nearby that he hadn't seen, or a code written on the wall, perhaps? He was ready to start backtracking when the door suddenly beeped. _What the hell?_ He thought, whirling around to watch. The hologram disappeared as it unlocked and flew open.

A blast of hot air from the outside immediately overwhelmed him. The interior of the tunnel was a comfortable temperature, perhaps pushing the limit of what most humans would consider too warm, but the outside was even hotter. Sweat already streamed down his filthy forehead.

_Yeah, definitely Rannoch._ He thought. He remembered that the codex entry for the planet listed its average temperature at 48° centigrade, a sizzling number for most though apparently quite pleasant for the native species.

He thanked God, and who or whatever was responsible for unlocking his escape route. The only way he could go once he stepped out was left, as his front and right was covered by solid walls. Pistol still in hand, he peeked around the corner.

The entrance was at the end of a short alley. He could see quarians walking by in their exo-suits and a storefront on the other side of what looked like a divided avenue. Looking up he saw, framed by the alley's moderately tall walls, open sky; it was partially cloudy and a sort of golden color, which meant it was probably dusk. High up, a lane of air traffic flowed diagonally across his view, a sight expected on most developed planets.

Since it would be difficult to blend in among mostly quarians while covered in filth anyway, Shepard quickly decided that the Cerberus outfit needed to go. Luckily, he would always where a white t-shirt underneath, and sure enough it was still there. He folded the uniform jacket inside out around the weapon, took a deep breath, and walked out onto the street.

It was a modest area, perhaps a suburb. The buildings were tall but certainly not towering. The architecture reminded him of the Citadel, but with a distinctly quarian features, such as abundance of vines and plant life. The street was divided in the middle by a barrier topped with native plant species which ended at an intersection just off to his right. It continued in either direction as far as he could see. There were no ground vehicles.

As other quarians walked by, giving him curious glances or altogether avoiding him, his attention narrowed down to the store he had seen across the street. The sign was in khelish naturally, but the display window showed a number of different exo-suit designs with accompanying accessories and beautifications. Perhaps the shopkeeper would be willing to answer some of his questions.

A pleasant tone sounded throughout the aisles of the small shop when he crossed the door's threshold. A quarian immediately began to greet him. "Welcome to Omni sui- oh…" He stumbled back a bit, seeming frightened. Shepard's hand slowly began to reach under the folds of his bundle… But soon another quarian came out to greet him, this one taller and much more outgoing.

"Well! Humans don't usually come to this part of town, and we certainly never get any humans in here! I must say it's a pleasure to meet you." He extended his hand. "Mr.?"

Shepard's mind raced. Dropping his real name would probably be a bad idea. "Uh… um…" He stuttered. He was about to simply shrug when it struck him. "Gunn!" He half shouted, taking the quarians hand and shaking. "Solomon Gunn!"

_Kasumi saves the day… sheesh._ He thought.

The quarian nodded respectfully. "Mr. Gunn, my name is Hes'Theal, and this-" He indicated the other quarian who was more or less cowering behind him. "-is my son, John. Do forgive him; he's never seen a human in person before." At the mention of his name, John'Theal sank further behind his father who chuckled and patted him on the head.

"John? I don't think that's a typical quarian name is it?" Shepard asked, perturbed slightly at the use of his name.

"Well no it isn't." Replied Hes'Theal. "But the man who gave us back the home world was a human. THE Commander Shepard, and since John was his first name… well…" He shrugged. "John has topped the names list ever since and humans get a lot of respect around here. My wife simply insisted on John."

"Commander Shepard was really a hero." The shopkeeper continued. "Nobody could believe it when he was killed, especially not Queen Zorah." He gazed out the window at pedestrians strolling by. "She still talks about him in her speeches to the people and to the parliament."

"Uh… I'm not too clear on the quarian's system of government." Shepard said, trying to sound as innocent as possible. Combined with the fact that he was apparently dead, he was more confused than ever.

"Sir!" Spoke up John'Theal. "Our government consists of a parliament with 325 members, with each member representing a constituency of a few hundred thousand. We also have a separate court system for resolving most legal affairs. However, our monarch, the great Queen'Zorah, technically has absolute power and could dissolve it all at any moment."

"That's my boy!" Hes whooped, and turned back to Shepard. "He's in advanced level government classes at his school. The teachers tell me nothing but great things about him."

"Father…" John muttered bashfully, retreating back behind him.

Shepard began to ask another question, this one would have been about Tali, but a quarian couple, tailed by a group of friends, entered the store before he could finish. He did not want to draw too much attention to himself, especially when quarians are so talkative. The best course of action was probably to excuse himself as quickly as possible.

"I'd better let you work. And thanks for the info." He said, indicating the party that had just entered and shaking Hes' hand again. "I hope you and your family do well." He glanced out the window, and it was indeed getting darker. "But real quick, do you know where I could find a hotel that's human friendly around here?"

The shopkeeper nodded. He pointed to the intersection. "Take the avenue here down two blocks to the intersection with Teshuun Street. There'll be a taxi stand there; ask for the Mercury Hotel and Restaurant. Nice place, not too expensive either. They've got rooms and levo food, and uh… a change of clothes." He said, finally taking note of "Mr. Gunn's" disgusting and sweaty state.

Shepard laughed. "I could really use that. Thanks again." Waving at John, he strode out, past more curious looks from the quarian shoppers, and began his walk to the destination that Hes had specified.

He cursed himself. He had gotten too caught up in pleasantries and hadn't asked the important questions that he really needed to know. Luckily, he had come away with some enlightenment, that apparently he was dead and that the quarian government was a partial democracy that existed on Tali's whim. He still had more questions than answers; but once he had a place to stay and maybe after some food and rest, he could really get on with finding out what the hell was going on.

Unbeknownst to Commander Shepard, a great many pairs of silvery eyes were watching his thoughtful journey down London Avenue. All of them waited only for the right moment to strike, and they all sensed that that moment was rapidly approaching. Not all of the watchers had the same goals and motivations, but this man would define their struggle, and they all knew it.

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A bit more revelation though not much. All will be revealed in due time. :P

Please continue to review and give suggestions/ point out mistakes. You will really help to improve my (mediocre I think) writing skills and I would appreciate it so much. :)

Stay tuned folks!


	3. The Marine

I am strangely proud of this chapter and I don't know why. Maybe because I feel like there's more detail in it than usual, or something... I have no idea.

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The walk to the taxi stand was uneventful. Other than a few protracted stares cast his way out of curiosity and a near stumble over some errant plant life, Shepard was grateful that nobody took it upon themselves to pay any more attention to him than that; he was sweating enough as it was.

The area itself was a small one, consisting only of a landing pad on either side of a call console with enough room for one or two taxi vehicles on either pad. It was unsurprising that it was so small, considering the area he was in had all the indicators of being only a suburb of the city: the sparseness of resident quarians, the buildings being only a few stories tall and small neighborhood stores like Hes'Theal's suit shop.

He pushed the call button on the holographic panel, and within a few minutes a vehicle swooped down out of the ever darkening sky from the line of airborne traffic to pick him up. As usual for air taxis there was no driver and as the door closed the onboard VI greeted him. "Species detected: Human, engaging environmental control systems." It said, and a blast of cold air provided him with immediate and very welcome relief from the outside heat. "Welcome to Perseus Veil Transportation Services. Please specify a destination."

"Mercury Hotel and Restaurant." He said.

"One moment please." It replied. Suddenly the skycar lifted off and rocketed into the air. "Destination confirmed. Should the occupant require further assistance or a destination change, please ask."

As the vehicle gained altitude, Shepard marveled at the Rannoch landscape rapidly falling away from him. Additionally, he was finally given an opportunity to appreciate the size of the capital city. Lit up against the late dusk sky, it was a rival to any settlement he had ever seen on Earth or any other planet. Off in the distance, mingling with multiple lanes of sky traffic, the buildings became true skyscrapers: presumably downtown Rayya. The taxi joined in with the stream of traffic headed in that direction.

After flying for about five minutes, just short of entering the maze of skyscrapers, the VI put the taxi into a dive. They headed straight for one of the chasms that denoted a street in the area below.

"Specified destination has been reached." The program said as they landed. "Thank you for using Perseus Veil Transportation Services. We hope you will consider us again in the future." The door popped open when the VI finished, and Shepard stepped out into the, now fairly comfortable, night air. The taxi then promptly flew off, leaving him to his own devices.

In that area, the resemblance to ancient quarian architecture was mostly gone, replaced almost completely by the more metropolitan and artificial citadel style. Quarians bustled around him, talking to their fellows, or browsing through store windows. His attention turned to the building in front of him. A sign over the front doors, with both khelish and latin script, confirmed that it was the place he was looking for.

He made for the entrance. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a quarian leaning against the wall. The suit she was wearing seemed to him more military than the others around him. Her eyes were hard to see behind the gray mask, even with their natural bioluminescence, but he could have sworn she was watching his every move.

Shepard did his best to ignore her as he stepped into the lobby of the Mercury Hotel and yet more air conditioning. A human employee, a middle-aged woman with blonde hair, beckoned him over to the reception desk.

"Hello sir. Would you like a room?" She asked. He did not answer immediately; his attention was on the wall behind her.

There hung a picture of him in his alliance dress uniform. He was saluting something off to the side, and behind him was a shot of Earth with the Normandy SR2 in orbit. The caption read: _ "Commander Shepard, 2154-2186, A True Soldier and Hero."_

"Sir?" The receptionist said, breaking his stupor.

"Oh… uh…" He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Yeah, a room please."

"Of course." She glanced at his filthiness. "You look like you've had a rough day, sir…" He gave her a look that told her all she needed to know. "Ah… I'll have a drone deliver a change of clothes to your room then. How long would you like it for?"

"I'll go on the nightly rate." He said. "My name is Solomon Gunn by the way."

"Good to meet you Mr. Gunn." She smiled. "Okay, your room will be 110 credits a night plus a one-time 40 credit charge for the change of clothes. Your omni-tool gives me this bank account:" A holographic projection of his account flashed up, with the amount of money he had just after the party at Anderson's apartment.

_Looks like even in this hell I still have my bank account, the irony continues. _He thought, and nodded approval while suppressing a sardonic laugh

"Okay…" She tapped her console a few more times. "Done. You're on the 38th floor, room C; the entry key is on your omni-tool. Take one of the elevators down the hall on your left. Call down if you need anything Mr. Gunn."

"I will…" He distractedly responded since his attention had drifted back to the portrait. He didn't dare turn around, lest someone put two and two together, but a quick sidelong glance to his side made his hair stand on end. The military looking quarian woman was staring straight at him through the windows…

Gripping his bundled pistol ever more tightly, he forced a smile for the receptionist. "Thank you, I should go." Doing his best to walk naturally, he half scrambled into the hallway she had pointed out to him.

The 38th floor was near the top of the building, and the room faced the street that the main entrance to the building was on. It was a modest setup, consisting of a bathroom, a living area and a bedroom. The bedroom had a singular window overlooking the street, thankfully closed and with curtains drawn over it. On the bed lay his new clothes: plain white boxers and socks with a red and black t-shirt and matching pants.

He took a long shower, meticulously cleaning every bit of his body until it was almost raw. The image of the quarian staring at him through her gray mask was burned into his conscious thought and it gave him chills even under hot water. He tried to replace her with images of a flustered Tali, but like an after image she would not go away. In the end he just gave up trying to think at all.

The hotel clothes were just the right size. Shepard placed the filthy Cerberus uniform in the dresser and put the pistol in his pants waist. After sitting for a few moments to compose himself, he was ready to call the receptionist about some food when there was a rap on the door.

"By the authority of Queen Zorah, I demand that you open this door at once human!" Called a female quarian voice.

There was no second guessing or doubt in his mind about who was on the other side of the door. He started to reach for his pistol, but decided against it; the quarian hadn't sounded _overly _hostile, and perhaps he could get her to answer some of his own questions. Steeling himself, he unlocked and opened the door, half expecting to be shot then and there.

Luckily, the gray masked woman simply offered her three fingered hand. "Mr. Gunn." He grasped and shook. "I am Agent Fay'Rela, with the Bureau of Planetside Affairs. I have questions that I must have you answer."

Shepard crossed his arms. "Am I in trouble?"

"Not unless I say so…" She responded. The threat did not go unnoticed.

He nodded, unperturbed. "Come on in then. Perhaps I could interest you in some human food?" He smirked at his own jibe even as she pushed past him, ignoring it. Fay indicated the gray couch in the living area, and he obliged her.

"Mr. Gunn," She began, her omni-tool open and recording. "When did you arrive on Rannoch?"

"Uh… a few hours ago…" Shepard answered, truthfully.

"On what ship?"

_Son of a bitch… You had to ask that question!?_

"Iiiii… Ahhhh." He stalled, trying to come up with some contrived answer but failing miserably. "Ii… Don't… Remember…"

He thought he saw her raise an eyebrow through her helmet, but she continued without vocally questioning his answer. "Why did you come to Rannoch?"

_Just go ahead and arrest me already lady…_

"Before I answer that question, will you answer one of mine?" He said, seizing the opportunity to both get answers and buy time.

She sighed heavily as though it was amazing that he could even dare to question her. "What do you want to know?"

"Who is Queen Zorah?" He asked.

Fay recoiled from him, apparently astonished at his lack of knowledge. "She is our great monarch! She is the life of Rannoch, voice of our people!" She leaned towards him. "Surely you jest. Humans have a way of being completely inappropriate about her. They think that just because her only love was a human they're entitled to it." Her tone became dangerous. "I warn you, your insolence will get you nowhere."

"I…" Shepard began, turning red at the mention of his relationship with Tali.

"Don't bother bosh'tet." She said, clearly fuming. "Now answer my question."

"Uh… What was it again?" He tapped his ear. "I'm a getting a lot of bullshit on this line."

"YOU KNOW WHAT IT WAS!" She screamed, completely losing her temper. "SCREW MY ORDERS, YOU CERBERUS BASTARD! CHOKE ON THIS!" She reached for her weapon, a stun gun by the looks of it. Shepard desperately tried to pull his own pistol out from under him, but he knew he wouldn't be fast enough.

He heard a muffled pop.

Fay'Rela's head exploded in a spray of red, her mask shattering as the bullet tore a gaping hole in her face. Her body crumpled to the floor, dead.

Shepard pointed his now unholstered gun at short the entrance hall, waiting for whoever was responsible for the shot to come around for him too. But two quarian hands came around the corner, one holding what he recognized as an M-11 Suppressor Pistol. Slowly the body they were attached to came around the corner as well: a man, wearing an old red migrant fleet marine uniform and a black mask.

"Shepard." He said. His accent instantly registered in Shepard's mind.

"Kal'Reegar!" He exclaimed, and lowered his weapon.

Reegar kicked the dead bureau agent for good measure; her blood was now pooling over the carpet. He then looked back at Shepard. "We need to go, there'll be more of them."

"How-" Shepard was now completely and utterly lost. But the quarian gave him a shove towards the exit.

"No time, once we get to the safe house then you can ask me anything you like." He responded.

"Reegar!" Shepard shouted. The former marine stopped momentarily for whatever the commander wanted to say. "You're supposed to be dead!"

Kal'Reegar's gaze dropped to the floor now covered with the blood of one of his people.

"And so are you…"

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Everyone's favorite migrant fleet marine has returned from the dead! (Or has he?)

That scene where Shepard was standing by the reception desk and sees Fay'Rela staring at him from the outside actually made me uncomfortable as I wrote it. Wow...

As always, feel free to leave a review or PM me with suggestions or corrections, I would really appreciate it.

Stay tuned, folks! :)


	4. The Admiral

I think I would have been done with this chapter earlier if not for the fact that I had my high school graduation on Monday. 7th in the class, not bad at all. :)

I actually had some trouble figuring out what I wanted to do with this chapter, but I settled on this version. As always, please enjoy!

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The quarian exited the hotel room just in front of Shepard and emptied his pistol's six round magazine into targets down the hall. The last target: a male Bureau agent with three tightly grouped bullet wounds in his chest, crumpled to the floor between his two comrades just as Shepard poked his head around the corner. They had just come out of one of the elevators.

Reegar ejected the spent heat sink from the weapon and pulled another suppressor pistol from his hip and offered it to the Commander. "You'll need one of these." He said. "Your gun isn't silenced and we don't need to cause a panic with the other humans staying in their rooms."

Shepard hastily re-familiarized himself with the weapon; small clip size but extremely accurate and powerful. It had served him well when he was nearly murdered by CAT6 mercenaries on Silversun Strip, and it would have to do so again.

"By the way Commander," The marine added as they reached the emergency stairwell. "Jezik says he wants his gun back, and a new mask too."

"Who?" The name sounded familiar, but Shepard couldn't quite place it.

"The guy you slugged in the trash system, you left a huge crack in his mask." Reegar said, smirking behind his own dark mask while he interfaced with the door. "When he came to he called in about you, and I told him to let you out of the tunnel. He's the reason I was able to find you."

"That was him?" Shepard replied, surprised that the man he punched would be so willing to help. "Uh… I'll have to forward him some credits then."

"Later." Reegar said. "This damned door hasn't been used in forever…" His omni-tool worked feverishly to deal with the older code, but a chime from down the hall indicated that another party of Bureau goons had arrived on their floor. They were out of time.

Hoping that it would work in their favor, he planted a shot in the control panel. Fortunately, the door shorted and opened just as the agents stepped over their fallen allies. Shepard dove out of the way and Reegar was right behind him as they opened fire with their own suppressed weapons. Bullets shredded the wall behind where they had just been standing.

"STOP THEM!" One of the enemies yelled.

Reegar slammed the console on their side of the door, and the door slid shut again. He turned to Shepard. "It won't stop them forever." He said, pointing up. "We need to get to the roof; my men will be waiting with a shuttle." Sure enough, as they began to climb the steps, the squad of agents started working on the door, interspersing their efforts with various muffled expletives.

The climb was not long, as Shepard's room was fairly close to the roof. They ascended in silence, broken only the quarian telling his men that he was approaching the roof and calling in the escape shuttle. They soon reached the exit: a door setup similar to the one they had come through.

The moment it opened to the light saturated city night, an unsuppressed sniper shot blew a hole in the wall behind them. "Bosh'tet!' Reegar yelled. Both of them took up a position on either side of the door. He pulled up his omni-tool to contact the escape shuttle as the sniper fired a shot _through_ the wall, missing Shepard's head by little more than a foot.

"We're stuck in the stairwell!" He yelled into the comm link. "They've got a sniper on the roof! I need him dead!" Another shot blew a hole between his bowed legs, causing him to instinctively jump.

"Understood, we'll take care of him. Stand by." Responded the pilot. The shuttle roared overhead moments later, and muffled cracks of gunfire echoed through the stairwell. The pilot came back on the channel. "He's dead; we're ready for you and the human sir."

"Come on Shepard." Reegar said, gesturing at the door. "Let's go."

The shuttle, a plain gray Kodiak, settled next to the roof's edge, above the street. A few quarians dressed in suits similar to Kal'Reegar's stood in the access hatch, each of them carrying an assault rifle. One of them helped both of the escapees into the vehicle.

At that moment the squad they had eluded inside the building burst out onto the roof. The two groups immediately began to exchange fire; one of the Bureau soldiers went down as the Shuttle roared away and towards the traffic headed away from Rayya.

Reegar entered the cockpit, leaving Shepard to his own devices. He took a seat against the wall; the quarians whispered animatedly amongst themselves, occasionally glancing at him and quickly looking away when they saw he was staring back at them.

A woman appeared in the doorway to the cockpit, looking straight at him. The marines all turned and saluted her, but she ignored them completely, her glowing eyes fixated on him. Kal'Reegar appeared behind her. Shepard raised his eyebrows.

"Shepard…" She finally managed to say. He instantly recognized her accent, just as he had with Kal'Reegar.

"Admiral Raan!" He exclaimed, a smile coming to his face as he stood up and offered his hand. She slowly shook.

At the mention of his name the quarian marines off to the side had become even more excited. "It's really him!" One of them said, a bit too loud.

"That can't be him!" Responded a younger sounding quarian. "Commander Shepard is as tall as a Geth Colossus and twice as tough!" His comrades laughed heartily at his naïveté.

"Enough!" Reegar barked at them, trying to sound serious through his own laughter. They quieted down, but they continued to whisper about the human.

Raan was leaning against the wall of the shuttle, wondering still at the dead man standing in front of her. Kal'Reegar, concerned by her silence, placed his hand on her shoulder, but she waved him off.

"I'm fine Kal." She said, glancing his way quickly. "I just… don't know what to think about this…"

"It's good to see you again Raan." Shepard said.

"I don't know if I can say the same about you Commander." She said, a note of sadness in her voice. "You've been considered dead for so long. I can't even begi-"

"Wait a second!" Shepard interrupted. "_How_ long exactly?"

Kal'Reegar stepped forward. "You were killed 32 years ago Shepard… they had your body and everything."

"I… I…" Commander Shepard could not even begin to comprehend what that meant for him. He looked around the shuttle with a sudden sense of fear and desperation. "This isn't right! This is not what I remember! I don't know what's going on!" He shouted.

"Commander…" Began Raan.

"No!" He drew both of his pistols and suddenly found himself in a standoff with the marines. Reegar's men cowered at being threatened by the man they knew only in legends, but still they kept their weapons trained on him. Reegar himself, completely unfazed, had stepped in front of Raan to protect her, but she pushed him aside.

"Commander!" She implored. "Please listen!"

"I need answers!" He replied, his tone dangerously hostile.

"Let me say what I need to say." She responded. "Then you can ask us whatever you want."

Shepard knew than Shala'Raan had always been one of the more sane minds on the quarian admiralty board. She had always been honest and forthright with him, especially when it counted, such as during Tali's trial. He was incredibly wary of his current surroundings, but…

He sighed, and lowered the guns. "Alright… Maybe I should sit down." The quarians holstered their own weapons as Shepard sat back down. Raan sat next to him with Kal'Reegar keeping an eye on him from the other side, just in case.

"I don't know how you survived or why you're here." She started.

"Neither do I." Shepard replied blankly.

"I have no reason to doubt that Commander." She said, nodding. "But we need your help. It's a situation that you inadvertently caused with your death on Earth."

"How did I die?" Shepard asked, still staring blankly at the shuttle bulkhead next to Kal.

"During the run to Conduit in London, you were nearly killed outright by a blast from the reaper called Harbinger. Tali and your Prothean, Javik if memory serves, called in the Normandy for an emergency pickup." Raan started playing with her hands the way Tali used to do when she was uncomfortable or nervous. "It wasn't enough though. You… died in Tali's arms."

Shepard's heart lurched. He could imagine her holding his broken body as he passed away, tears nobody would ever know about pouring down her hidden face. Even if he wasn't dead, he still firmly regretted dying. A tear of his own slipped down his cheek while Raan respectfully waited.

"Who fired the crucible?" He asked after re-composing himself.

"Your admiral, David Anderson."

"What about the Illusive Man?"

"They don't know what happened to him. Cerberus has not been active since the end of the war though, so perhaps he's dead." She made an obscene gesture. "If so, good riddance."

"Did the crucible stop the reapers?"

"Yes. It also destroyed the Geth and apparently your ship's AI as well." She looked away from him. "A lot of our people have not forgiven Anderson for it either."

"What about my crew and my ship?"

"The Normandy is docked in Vancouver as a museum ship." She chuckled. "The Alliance couldn't find anyone willing to step into your shoes. As for your crew, I only know of one…" She said, her voice filled with dread at her mention of the one.

"Tali?" He completed.

"Tali is dead Commander." She said, a bit more harshly than she intended. "Queen Zorah is all that remains of her…"

She leaned in, staring intently at him.

"…and you are our only chance to end this abomination."

* * *

Queen Zorah's private chamber always gave Zaal'Koris a sense of dread. Perhaps it was the painting of the reaper war hanging above the opulent bed bringing back unpleasant memories, or the various objects that once belonged to Commander Shepard displayed prominently on some glass encased shelves next to the bed, he could never tell.

But right then he felt terrified, because his report to his monarch included a failure that could be considered his fault in entirety, and he was now kneeling and awaiting his sentence.

She sat facing the token window in the room, one which gave a highly impressive view of the capital. He could only see the back of the chair, but any room she occupied gave a feeling of being watched even when she wasn't physically watching.

"Admiral..." She said, her calm voice stiffening his spine. "Do you remember why I spared your life even when I had that miserable wench Xen executed on trumped up charges?"

"You… you, thought I was c-c-competent at the- at the job you g-gave me." He managed to choke out.

"Yes." She replied, her voice sounding quite condescending. "That's right…" Her unsuited arm and hand appeared out of the side of the chair, holding a beverage glass. "Do you think I should have you executed Zaal'Koris?"

"No!' He squeaked.

"I thought I had made the right choice keeping you and Gerrel around…" She stopped. "But perhaps I was wrong…"

"I beg your forgiveness you majesty!" He nearly screamed. "I swear I'll get them caught within a few days! I just need more time!" He dropped to both knees. "Please your majesty! I beg you!"

"Hmmmm…" She sighed. Her hand began toying with the glass. "Very well… Admiral… Do _NOT _ fail me again." Her tone was extremely deadly. "Or else…"

"You are truly great Queen Zorah!" He shouted, getting to his feet and bowing.

"I know." The glass retreated back behind the chair. "I can still change my mind if you would like." But Zaal'Koris was already running out of the room, cursing his old age with every stride.

* * *

Queen Zorah makes a somewhat more personal appearance and we get some more scuttlebutt about the Commander's bizarre situation.

More to come! Please let me know what I'm doing wrong (or right, right is always good, as opposed to left... never mind...)

End Transmission.


	5. A Close Encounter

Been a bit lazy and haven't worked on this for a while. Perhaps it was writer's block of some kind that kept me away, but I plunged in in the past few days and managed to come up with something good. Longest chapter ever...

By the way, for those who haven't yet realized, the idea for this story comes from "The Tyranny of King Washington" add on from Assassins Creed III. Oddly enough I never took any interest in the Assassin's Creed series, but I remembered reading about this add-on.

* * *

Shepard awoke to the smell of coffee and sound of distant conversation. Rannoch's star shone through the ancient structure's windows while a comfortably warm breeze flowed into the room.

The shuttle had dropped the party off at a small farm on the far outskirts of Rayya. According to Shala'Raan, the structure they now occupied dated to before the Morning War and the Geth had maintained it since then, just as with a large number of other old quarian structures dotting the planet. Now, it served its architects and builders once again, as a base for the resistance movement.

The quarians had quickly shuffled him to a plain room with only a bed which was slightly too small for him and a window overlooking a field filled with a certain kind of dextro grain, instructing him to get some sleep while they attempted to figure out what they would do with him. Since the confusing series of events that night left him exhausted, he had needed little encouragement to get some sleep.

As he sat up in the bed, the door slid slowly open and Raan carefully entering the room and holding a tray with a mug and a carafe of coffee, moving as though not to wake him. But seeing that he was awake, she abandoned the subterfuge.

"Good morning Shepard." She said. "I hope you slept well."

He nodded. "I did, Raan. Thank you."

"I'm afraid this is all we have to offer right now." She told him apologetically, moving over placing the tray on the bed next to him. "Kal'Reegar has some of his men looking for breakfast for you, but as you can imagine it's hard to find sustenance that isn't toxic for you around here."

"It's fine, thank you." He poured some of the dark liquid into the mug and took a sip: bitter and stale with no condiments, but it would have to do. He placed the drink back on the tray and walked over to the window. A farmer off in the distance was using some kind of tool to take readings on a certain row of grain.

"So I imagine the people who own this land are sympathetic to your cause?" He asked, not taking his eyes off the man in the field.

"Of course." She replied, moving next to him. "As it happens most of our sympathizers live away from the cities, and so most of our operations take place in the countryside. Only in extraordinary situations-" She indicated him. "-like yours, do we launch operations like that in any of the cities."

"So the majority of city-dwellers support Tali?" Shepard asked.

"Queen Zorah…" Raan corrected. Shepard could tell she still had to force herself to use Tali's title. "If they don't then they certainly cannot publicly show it. Her agents are everywhere, and a word of dissent could have you stolen away and killed." She sighed and turned away. "The amount of devotion her true followers show to her is… fanatical."

"Why don't you support her?" He wondered. "Why fight her rule?"

The former admiral hung her head. "I did support her… for many years… I…" She shook her head. "I don't remember much of it, but eventually I realized what was going on, what she was doing to stay in power: murders, propaganda, and lies. I knew then that the Tali I helped bring up was no more. She would never do that." She shrugged. "So I retired…"

"That does not sound like Tali." He murmured in agreement. The room's comm system beeped to life.

"Shepard?" Kal'Reegar's voice said through the system. "We need you in the Ops Center. It's down the hall a few doors. We've got a mission that we could use your help with."

Stepping away from the window, he drained his mug of bad coffee and turned back to Raan. "I guess I should go then."

"Yes." She responded. "Please tell Reegar I'll be there in a few minutes. Good luck, Commander."

"Yes admiral." He smiled at her, bowed his head respectfully and left her to own devices before she could object to the use of her title.

Out in the hall, two resistance fighters stared at him as he walked by. One of them feebly lifted his hand as he walked by and stuttered. "Uh… Commander, is it- is it really true that you survived the Battle of London?"

He stopped and responded. "Apparently so; I am standing here aren't I?"

"Well of course!" The fighter said, feeling very foolish. "Um, it's just…" He glanced at his friend for a moment, before hanging his head. "Maybe someone rebuilt you like Cerberus did, or maybe it was a black ops cover-up. A lot people even think that you were indoctrinated before the battle and that you were never even at the conduit!"

Shepard raised an eyebrow, genuinely amused. "And these… indoctrination theorists… do people really believe them?"

"They have little things they like to point out. Like the fact that you were dealing with Reaper tech for so long. When it came out after the battle that you were having recurring nightmares, that's when people really started to speculate." The fighter started to fidget the way quarians did when they were nervous. "I thought they were right for a while, but when the details about the end of the war were declassified and… ah… seeing you here is making me reconsider as well…"

"Well, I can say for certain that I was not indoctrinated." Shepard assured. "Let me tell you that my intention was always to destroy the reapers. The Illusive Man was the indoctrinated one, and he wanted to control them, so why didn't I? Hell, Saren was indoctrinated too, and he was convinced that the synthesis of organic and synthetic life was the only way. I never believed that for a second, so… what?"

"I don't know, commander." The fighter conceded.

"I might not have been the one to fire the crucible… I think… but the total destruction of the reapers was always my goal." Shepard said. "Anyone who says otherwise doesn't seem to understand the entire goal of my efforts in the first place."

"I think I understand." The quarian said. "Whatever the case, we are all honored to meet you sir!" He saluted, his friend nodding and following suit.

"Thank you gentlemen." Shepard saluted back, and pointed over his shoulder. "I need to get in there before Kal'Reegar starts to worry, you know."

"Ha!" They both laughed. "You're alright Commander!"

Shepard thought the operations center was quite… primitive… as a certain prothean would have called it. Beyond a few radios and consoles, the most striking feature of the old room was the central holographic display of Rannoch. A few quarians manned some of the stations while some others had low conversations on the other side of the room. Reegar himself leaned in to the display, watching the planet move in its nearly 32 hour rotation. When he noticed the Commander, he stood away from the display.

"Morning Shepard." They shook hands. "I hope you had a good sleep."

"The bed was a bit too small, other than that I suppose I can't complain." He said. "So what have you got for me?"

Reegar signaled an operator at one of the consoles, and the holographic display of Rannoch narrowed down to the city of Rayya. "Our biggest issue, Commander, is that the people are pretty unmotivated to have a change in government. Life is good, the quarian people are prosperous, and I'm sure you know from your species' history that prosperity tends to make people lazy."

"I can think of a few examples." Shepard said, recalling the war. "This isn't from human history but I saw it on the Citadel during the fighting. Everybody knew that it was only a matter of time until the reapers attacked the place, but everyone continued to live and party as though nothing was happening. I don't even think Cerberus' coup attempt even fully shook them out of it. It was sick, honestly…"

"Yeah, I remember reading about that." Reegar said, disgust dripping in his tone. "You also won't be surprised to hear that for my species the tendency is no different. So…" He gestured at the operator, and the holographic display zoomed into the government district of Rayya, specifically on the largest and most ornamental building. "This is Queen Zorah's palace…" The quarian informed him. "…and we're going to raid it."

Instantly, the conversations stopped, and every pair of eyes in the room stared at the former marine as if he had not only lost his mind but become hopelessly suicidal. The reaction was not lost him, and smiled behind his dark mask. "This is what we've been waiting for!" He shouted, matching every stare at him with a glare of his own. "We have Shepard vas Normandy!"

He paced a bit, and laughed to himself. "There's a popular joke you may have heard. 'I check under my bed for government agents and government agents check under their beds for Queen Zorah.' Well let me tell you, that Queen Zorah checks under her bed for Commander Shepard!" His audience was amused by his light-hearted play on the joke, but the mood became serious again quickly.

Reegar pointed at Shepard. "Shepard saved the galaxy, more than once! He gave us the home world! He saved our people!" The former migrant fleet marine moved next to him. "And he'll save us again, but he needs a crew… and I say that we're the best damn one around!" His pep talk appeared to be getting through to the fighters. Many of them clapped. "So… are you with him?"

A collective shout of affirmation was the response, and they all went back to work with a new zeal and vigor. "I could learn a thing or two from you about public speaking." Shepard said.

"You did all the work there Commander." Reegar replied, acknowledging Shala'Raan as she returned from her errand. "You inspire people; you've got a fire a leadership that everyone is just amazed by. Everyone knew that the Normandy's crew was willing to follow you to hell and back. Actually, they probably did a few times if any of the documentaries I've seen are to be believed."

"Thank you, I never- AGH!" A splitting pain burst in his brain, nearly knocking him unconscious where he stood. Someone shouted his name, and before he knew it, he was surrounded by darkness.

* * *

The pain had left him momentarily, and he felt cold. He could not see the floor, there was simply darkness, but a figure in front of him moved about in the darkness. The pain, reduced significantly though still uncomfortable, returned to his head. The figure moved towards him until it stood a few feet from him and, in a familiar voice, said: "Shepard…"

Suddenly an unseen light illuminated the figure. Before him stood, dressed in white robes and wearing a tiara of green plants, stood Tali. When he saw her, not only did the headache intensify, but his heart lurched as well. She still looked as young as he remembered.

"T- T- Tali?" He managed to ask.

"Uh huh, I'm the one and only." She answered. She cocked her head and smiled at him. Normally her smile made him feel better about any situation, but for some reason it now only sent chills down his spine. Her eyes penetrated through to his very soul, as though ready to rip it out of his body. Something was severely wrong and he had no idea what it was.

"Shepard… I know they've told you things…" She said, coming closer. His head began pounding even harder, forcing him to his knees. "Things I've done or not done or people that I've had killed for unworthy reasons but…" She knelt next to him. "You don't believe them, do you?"

He knew that Kal'Reegar and Shala'Raan were not the types that would lie about anything, much less their own people's safety. But he felt overwhelmingly compelled to answer the way she wanted. "N- no…"

"You wouldn't want me to suffer a painful death at the hands of these people, would you?"

"No!"

"I know you want to be with me again…" She put her hands on the top of his head. "Join me Shepard, and be my king…"

The temptation was unstoppable; it blasted through every mental guard the Commander threw at it. Every moment he spent kneeling on the floor with Tali touching his head was exponentially more taxing on his self-control. The headache was about to make him black out again with its severity. He mustered what strength he had left, and with Herculean effort, pushed back.

"NOOO!"

Tali fell backwards, and the overwhelming temptation ceased as did the pain of the headache. He scrambled to his feet as she did. Utter astonishment dominated her features, which no longer looked as youthful and innocent as he had thought.

"They're right… You are not Tali."

"I-" She began, shaking her head in disbelief and even fear.

"NOOO!" He screamed again, and threw a powerful punch at her face. The world shattered.

* * *

"He's coming to!" Shala'Raan yelled. Nearly everyone gathered around Shepard's body, doing what they could to resuscitate him. He sprang to life, coughing up a storm. "Shepard! Are you ok?! We thought you died… again!"

"I saw Tal- Queen Zorah…" He coughed up, still not quite sure what had just happened.

"Ancestors… What exactly happened?" She asked.

"I think she tried to indoctrinate me…"

* * *

In her inner sanctum, Queen Zorah shook off her forced sleep. She tasted blood, and discovered that her nose, while unbroken, had bled profusely all over her mouth and robes as she laid slumped unconscious against the wall.

"Bosh'tet." She fumed. Shepard's sudden burst of mental fortitude had foiled her efforts. But despite her failure to convert him to her cause, her dominion and plan would not be stopped. He had simply delayed the inevitable.

She staggered up, and opened a link to Admiral Koris. "Koris." She called. "Co-ordinate with Han'Gerrel and begin your attack immediately."

"Yes My Queen!" He replied through the comm-link.

"Change of plans. I want Shepard alive and alive only! No excuses!"

"We will need considerable man-power to bring him down non-lethally." Koris' devotion to his men sometimes caused considerable annoyance. It was probably the only thing capable of making him question her. "They'll take heavy casualties!"

"Need I repeat myself?" She asked, knowing he dare not answer incorrectly.

"Your will be done." He replied after a brief pause, and the link went silent.

She composed herself; she had an appointment with the human ambassador in less than an hour over damage done to the Mercury, one of the only predominantly human hotels on the planet. She would of course blame it on Reegar and Raan's terrorist group, but…

Queen Zorah swept out of the fairly dark room without another thought. The token light dimmed to complete zero as the door closed, plunging the room and its only object of interest, the prothean sphere recovered by Project Firewalker so many years ago, into darkness.

* * *

I always wondered what happened to that thing after the Alliance impounded the Normandy and arrested Shepard. I guess they took it for testing or something. It was my favorite piece of decor from the Cerberus era SR2 and it's too bad that Bioware didn't make it a "findable" in 3.

Either way, it found its way into Tali's hands and she seems to have unlocked its secrets and potential. Oh noes!

Be sure to let me know what you think! Stay tuned!


End file.
